After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes-the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn't have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.

When she is kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce her ideal world is turned upside down. What she leans while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she's ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.

Now Evan must chose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy resourceful survivor who believes she's in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she's ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.

Evan Taylor is getting ready for graduation however she still has no idea what she wants to do after high school, she knows that if she doesn't figure it out after the summer she will have to work for her step-father Joe Minelli, who is a fashion designer, Evan couldn't care less about fashion. Evan goes to the park to walk her dog Barklyn, when she runs into Bryce Vaughn, a boy from school, also there with his dog. Bryce gives her tips on how to remember dates for their history test the next day, and gives her advice on choosing a career. The next day Evan decides to dress nicer than usual due to her conversation with Bryce the day before. However, because she spent the extra time to get ready she is running late, when she gets off the train she decides that people are going to notice her new style and thinks they are going to knows it's because of Bryce. She turns to cross the tracks until she sees her friend Colin Jennings. Evan and Colin walk over to their other friend Lisa Kendall's apartment to walk to school together.